Chameleon eye problem

[Eelinaa]

After the second or third day i got my chameleon his left eye started to get wrinkley and was a little sunken in. I spray his eyes with water so he can clean them out but it hasnt been helping. I use reptisun 5.0 for his uvb and a day time bulb my zoomed. His lights are on and off for 12 hours. I give him a vitamin supplement called repashy superfoods calcium plus. I put some on the crickets twice a week.I have a dripper and i spray his cage twice a day. Its been two weeks now and his right eye is starting to do the same. Im not sure what to do! Please help!

 

[Sinfulintent]

Welcome to the forums. good luck getting your answers there are lots of knowledgeable people here.

could you help us out by filling out this https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Quick questions do you spray the eye directly or let the water fall on your cham to more simulate rain, you shouldn't be directly spraying.

The one eye seems to suggest there was something wrong with the one eye, and if it is a lasting problem you may want to make a vet visit with him.

Both eyes are now sinking in it may be hydration but still a vet trip could probably help wonders, if he is dehydrated they can give him fluids if it is serious.

But please fill out the form so the more experienced members can help you

 

[Eelinaa]

Your Chameleon - VEiled cam, male, 6.5 monthes. in my care for 2 weeks.
Handling - at least 5 times a week
Feeding - 12 1/2 inch crickets in the morning. I let the crickets eat potatoes, carrots, and lettuce the night before for gut loading.
Supplements - twice a week. Repashy superfoods, calcium plus.
Watering - dripper dripping during the day, i spray his cage twice a day. Im not sure if the sripper should be dripping during the nighttime.
Fecal Description - nice greens and oranges, a little blue.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? not sure


Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen 18x18x24
Lighting - reptisun 5.0, zoomed daylight bulb. 12 hours on and off. On during the day time.
Temperature - basking spot is arounf 90 degrees, middle of cage is about 70 degrees, bottom is around 60 degrees
Night time temp- Lowest is 70.1 degrees, i have a temp. and humidity gauge in one.
Humidity - 45%, i have a dripper and i spray the cage when i see the humidity dropping. I have a humidity gauge.
Plants - Ficus, and ferns.
Placement - In my hallway, plenty of sunlight hits it during the day. Not near any air ventilators. 24 inches relative form the floor. I also have heated floors so thats helping with the warmth.
Location - In Pennsylvania

 

[Lovereps]

Hello Eelinaa and welcome to the forum!

To keep track of when your post gets answers, in the Additional options section below the reply area when you're writing a reply, the third option is Thread subscription. Choose the way you want to receive notifications.

 

[Lovereps]

Your Chameleon - VEiled cam, male, 6.5 monthes. in my care for 2 weeks.
Handling - at least 5 times a week

It is best to let a chameleon settle in to his new home for a while before starting to handle him. Moving to a new home and being handled are stressful for chameleons. Some chameleons never seem to get used to any handling, while others seem to tolerate it better.
Stress makes it much easier for them to get sick.

Feeding - 12 1/2 inch crickets in the morning. I let the crickets eat potatoes, carrots, and lettuce the night before for gut loading.

A more varied diet is good for your cham.
Different insects have different amounts of nutrients, so adding other feeders like silkworms, phoenix worms, dubias, etc. can help your cham to maintain his health. Feeders to use the least often are waxworms and mealworms--1st one's too fatty; the 2nd can cause intestinal blockage.
Your gutload can be improved on but it is certainly far better than not gutloading.
Unless your cham eats all the crickets right away, you can leave a large piece of potato or carrot in the cage for them to snack on, instead of chewing on your cham.

For some great gutloading info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html
and
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html[/QUOTE]
This place is a reliable source for a variety of feeders:
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

Supplements - twice a week. Repashy superfoods, calcium plus.

Crickets are bad in that they contain too much phosphorus and not enough calcium.
I think that it is better to dust crickets with a plain calcium dust at every feeding, twice a month use calcium with D3 and twice a month use a multivitamin.

Watering - dripper dripping during the day, i spray his cage twice a day. Im not sure if the sripper should be dripping during the nighttime.

No you don't need to use a dripper at night. The dripper during the day is good so he can drink as often as he needs to.
Long mistings of 3-5 minutes encourage your cham to drink enough and help him to shed and clean his eyes.

Fecal Description - nice greens and oranges, a little blue.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? not sure

I'm sure you've misunderstood this one. Fecals are his poop (usually solid brown) and urate (the white part).
While Veiled chams are often captive bred, sometimes they have parasites--which is what a vet does fecal tests to check for.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen 18x18x24
Lighting - reptisun 5.0, zoomed daylight bulb. 12 hours on and off. On during the day time.
Temperature - basking spot is arounf 90 degrees, middle of cage is about 70 degrees, bottom is around 60 degrees

That's a little hot for a cham of his age, you can lower his basking spot to about 85

Night time temp- Lowest is 70.1 degrees, i have a temp. and humidity gauge in one.
Humidity - 45%, i have a dripper and i spray the cage when i see the humidity dropping. I have a humidity gauge.

A nightime temp drop is good.
Veileds are said to be able to handle low humidity but it is better if you keep it at 50% or above. The air inside our houses can get very dry in the winter, so it might be necessary to mist a bit more often for the wintertime at the least.

Plants - Ficus, and ferns.
Placement - In my hallway, plenty of sunlight hits it during the day. Not near any air ventilators. 24 inches relative form the floor. I also have heated floors so thats helping with the warmth.

Sunlight that passes through glass doesn't give your cham any UV and it is actually converted into heat instead.
Could he be getting a lot hotter than you realize during the sunnier hours?

If you post clear close up pictures of each eye it can help.

Here is some excellent care info on Veileds that may be useful to you:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
Part 2 of it is here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...e/396-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet-part-2.html

 

[Eelinaa]

Thank you so much for the info! his cage is not glass so the sunlight is getting directly to him. Should i put worms in a cup when i feed them to him? Here are some close up pics of his eye.

 

[Eelinaa]

here are the pics

 

[Eelinaa]

Theres some white sticky stuff on his eyes as well..

 

[PantherEnvy]

Put your cham in a lukewarm shower for 30 minutes. It will help with potential dehydration issues, and will also assist in flushing out the eyes of debris matter. Set a plant in the shower, let the spray water cover the whole plant EXCEPT a 1/4-1/3 portion of it so your cham can rest there.

 

[Eelinaa]

I tried doing that but i feel like he hates it he keeps trying to move around and wont stay in one spot! aha

 

[Sinfulintent]

It is a new thing for him so it may take time. you may also try a "bath" I suppose.. My vet recomended this as mine is kinda small for the shower, I have a little water dish that I put warm water in (80-85F ish) just enough to slightly cover his body, he seems to walk around in it for a bit then rest his body in it. When he was super dehydrated he stayed in there for about an hour just sitting

 

[Lovereps]

Thank you so much for the info! his cage is not glass so the sunlight is getting directly to him. Should i put worms in a cup when i feed them to him? Here are some close up pics of his eye.

You're very welcome. Everyone on this forum is glad when people ask questions, so they can keep their cham healthy or to get him well again.
What I meant is that the sunight is passing through glass windows before it reaches him in his screened cage, so he does not get UV from that sunlight.

Cup feeding is a good way to be able to keep track of how much your cham is eating, plus the insects don't go chomping on things they shouldn't--like poop--before your cham eats them.

The white sticky stuff in his eyes sounds like an infection.
The problem with eye infections is that they are often just the visible part of a deeper infection, like a sinus infection.
Without antibiotics from a vet, they don't get better.

A vet who knows a lot about reptiles is the only kind of vet you want treating your cham.
here is a list of PA ARAV vets---these vets have a special interest in reptiles
http://www.arav.org/find-a-vet/#Pennsylvania

You can try gently rinsing his eyes a 2 or 3 times a day with a sterile saline solution like Bausch and Lomb Sensitive Eyes Plus but if his eyes are not clear within a day or two, then the vet is a must.

Are his urates (white part of poop) totally white or are they orange, yellow, pink, etc?

 

[Eelinaa]

I gave him some butter worms today and he seemed to like them! his urate is yellow and white.... i assume thats a bad thing? his one eye seems to be a little clearer, ive been using saline on them.

 

[Lovereps]

A fresh urate with some yellow in it indicates a bit of dehydration.

There can be a number of causes of dehydration.

A common cause is when their environment is kept too dry.
Veileds require air humidity of between 50-65% to help stay hydrated.
Live plants help keep humidity up.
A dripper provides a readily available drinking source and longer mistings encourage them to drink as well as keeping the humidity levels up.
If they are being kept near blowing air from a heating or air conditioning system or kept too hot, it can lead to dehydration.
Oversupplementing can cause organ damage and dehydration.
Internal parasites are sometimes a cause of dehydration.

It's very important to use the proper supplements in the right amounts--neither too much nor too little.
Dust with a plain calcium dust at every feeding, twice a month use calcium with D3 and twice a month use a multivitamin.

 

[Eelinaa]

thankyou so much for your help! im thinking about purchasing a automatic mister since it will be easier to keep the humidity high

 

[Lovereps]

If you get a good quality misting system you won't regret it.
The Mistking and Aquazamp systems are both known to be very good quality and reliable, so most people here use one or the other.
What is especially good is that they both come with pumps that don't get ruined if you make a mistake and the pump runs without any water in it.